Microclimatic conditions and Environmental differences of Sicilian coastal areas and Ixodidae phenology

Cats as reservoir of Babesia microti

Sequence variability in the Babesia bigemina merozoite surface antigen GP45 gene among Mexican and Italian isolates

Ovine Catarrhal fever (bluetongue): Analysis of Culicoides species in seropositive farms

Bluetongue (BT) is an orbiviral disease of wild and domestic ruminants, mainly sheep. In Sicily, the first Bluetongue outbreak occurred in October 2000; there have been 76 recorded outbreaks so far. The National Surveillance Plan, based on European Union Commission Decision 138/2001/CE, establishes serological and entomological surveys. This plan consists of controls of seronegative cattle, called 'sentry' as indicators for the presence and circulation of virus in defined areas. To check the seroconversions, the regional territory has been subdivided in 400 km2 areas including 58 seronegative cattle, periodically checked by serological tests. All positive sera have been tested to detect the…

Babesia bigemina Apical Membrane Antigen-1: features of the gene and predictive information of the protein from Italian strains

Babesia bigemina is a tick-borne haemoparasite affecting cattle in different parts of the world. One of the few antigens characterized in this species codifies for the Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA-1), a transmembrane protein recently identified. In this work, we characterized the ama-1 gene from four Italian B.bigemina strains, two obtained from Ragusa, Sicily (ITA1 and ITA3), one obtained from Benevento, Campania (ITA2) and one coming from Perugia, Umbria (ITA4). Italian sequences were compared to the Australian strain, whose sequence is available in the Sanger Institute web site, and to some strains coming from different parts of the world. This study provides useful information on the …

Investigation on the presence of Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina in wild boars (Sus scrofa).